Your Opinion: Right-to-work good for Missouri

Your Opinion: Right-to-work good for Missouri

May 14th, 2011by Harold Horstmann, Lohman
in News

Dear Editor:

I was surprised to read in the May 11 edition of the News Tribune the AP article "Efforts to curtail private-sector unions faltering" and in the first paragraph of the article plainly insinuating right-to-work is an attempt to break up union shops. This article is a blatant attempt to mislead the uninformed public and protect the Democrat politician's contributions.

Right-to-work is exactly that - "right to work." With our unemployment at nine percent how can any honest politician not support a person's right to get a job without a union card?

I, from experience in management with an AGC (union) contractor, know that if employees are needed only temporarily for a large project in an unfamiliar location, the first ones you get many times from the union hall are the friends and relatives of the business agent. The next ones are the friends and relatives of the first employees. The next ones are usually good union employees.

If you need more employees you may be in trouble because you'll probably get other friends and relatives of the hired employees who would be given a temporary work permit from the local union but may not be experienced. If more employees are needed then "travelers", experienced union workers but with cards from other locals, are given temporary work permits from the local for that particular project. Also, supervision had best keep the business agent happy or the project could be in trouble with your best employees suddenly quitting and going to work for a more "union friendly" contractor.

This is the real world in much of the union construction business and the Davis-Bacon act practically guarantees all government construction works be union staffed. I wish to clearly state that not all craft unions operate this way, however I feel that this type of hiring is more the rule than the exception.

With this scenario in place for most government projects, it is no wonder that there probably has never been a government project ever completed on time and/or under budget. Yet our politicians, with their pockets being lined with union contributions, are bound and determined to turn their heads and continue to protect the unions at the expense of the people who do not have union cards or friends in the union, but just trying to support their families.

Why is Boeing trying to build their new plant in South Carolina? Hmmm.